A Freebie for Classroom Organization

My first day of school is only 9 days away and I have been throwing myself into my classroom trying to get everything "just right." With my boards and decorations nearly finished, I started to focus on a few organizational details.

First up, labeling my daily bins for organizing all of my teaching materials. I recently acquired these great bins from Lakeshore and they are perfect for storing all of the books, worksheets, art supplies, and various teaching materials I will need throughout the week. I'm sure you use a similar system in your class for keeping organized.

I created a set of five cards for labeling the bins. They are 3x3" each and clearly display the initial for each weekday in a fun bold print. You can grab the set for FREE! Just click the image to the right  to start downloading.

Next up, labeling coat hooks. My classroom closet holds approximately 50 coat hooks for the class. Each child is assigned 2 hooks. The closet is divided into two parts: the left side is for backpacks and the right side is for jackets (and snow pants in the winter). Each child still receives two hooks, but their hooks are now separated. This new system is wonderful. If a child needs to access his backpack during the day, he no longer has to rifle through a million coats to get there (and knock 5 coats on the floor in the process). Likewise, when it's time for recess, students head quickly into the left side of the closet and grab jackets without dealing with the additional clutter of backpacks. It's amazing how one small change can make such a big difference in the classroom.

Kindergarteners need lots of visual clues at the beginning of the year, so I created two sets of calendar numbers to help my student remember which materials belong on each hook. My hooks to the left are labeled with a number and a picture of a backpack to remind students that their bags belong on this side of the closet. The coat hooks on the right side of the closet contain their number (I searched for cute jacket clip art but couldn't find an image that fit the look and feel of my classroom). Take a peek at my newly-labeled closet hooks:

Each set of numbers is available for purchase on Teachers Pay Teachers and Teachers Notebook. The numbers are 2.5"x2.5" and are perfect for your classroom calendar or labeling student hooks, lockers & bins.




 Backpack Calendar Numbers on Teachers Notebook
 Backpack Calendar Numbers on TpT








Bright & Simple Calendar Numbers on Teachers Notebook
Bright & Simple Calendar Numbers on TpT





More calendar number sets will be offered on TpT and Teaches Notebook soon, as well as the Kinder-Craze store. In the meantime, I have more organizing to do!